I Believe In Second Chances
by untapdtreasure
Summary: So long it was hard to remember what was a dream and what was real. That it hadn't happened. Yet.


Titled: I Believe In Second Chances  
Author: untapdtreasure  
Rated: M  
Summary: So long it was hard to remember what was a dream and what was real. That it hadn't happened. Yet.  
A/N: This is my first attempt at Carol and Rick, and I love it. I hope you do, too.

Rick pressed Carol as tight to the house as he could get her. His lips parted slightly, breath hot on her cheek as he quietly traced a circle with the pad of his thumb along her hip bone.

This had been a long time coming in the grand scheme of things. So long it was hard to remember what was a dream and what was real. That it hadn't happened. Yet.

She moved her hands to his hips, gripping them so tightly in her nimble fingers that she feared she would bruise him. Her lips parted. "Rick..." Her gentle voice carried across the night air to fade away before it brought any unwanted attention their way.

His mouth found hers. The kiss was anything but smooth. He pulled his head away and smirked. They would just have to try that again.

She shifted, pressing forward, and their lips met again. The kiss was tender, lacking in skill and grace, but the emotion was impacted along with her tiny escaped whimper. "Again," she begged.

He pressed forward once again to take her lips with his own. His free hand came up to hold the back of her head as the kiss deepened. His tongue caressed her bottom lip gaining him entry. This time his whimper was lost in the fray as their bodies melted against one another.

Her hands moved around his back, holding him to her as if she feared he would vanish. Her body shifted, forcing her legs to part as he shifted this thigh between them. She ground against him. Her core was pulsing at the friction. Her stomach grew hot as their tongues touched, dancing carefully around one another.

Things were on fire between them. Neither doubted this was how it would be, how they would come together. He moved his hand down, cupping her ass in his hands as he bent slightly and picked her up so that her legs wrapped around his waist.

The music from the small block party the residents of Alexandria had insisted on having the first warm night of the spring season floated to them, around them, taking them away from where they really were. Away from the middle of the Apocalypse and where the only two people that existed were the two of them.

She drug her nails up his back, trying to remove his shirt as she did so. Their mouths had only parted for mere seconds, taking in as much air in those moments as they could. She whimpered, feeling his hardness press against her through her clothes. She was almost certain that she could come this way. That she would if he kept that up. She moved her hands throug his hair, nails raking along his scalp.

He moved his mouth from hers and along her jaw, nipping and sucking at her flesh. He whispered, "Carol..." He sucked at her neck now, marking her. He thrust against her center once again, needing the friction, needing the release. He reached between them, undoing her jeans.

Her hand came over his, clamping down around his fingers and stopping him. "Not here. Not here." She shook her head as she forced his head up to meet her eyes. Her lips peppered against his mouth gently. "Inside. Take me inside."

He gently lowered her feet to the ground. He nodded in understanding and took her hand. He knew all the backyards well enough at this point that he quietly lead her toward their home. The home they'd shared for six months. Shared home but separate beds. He whispered, "Stay close to me." He felt her hand wrap around arm as she did just that.

Once they were in their backyard, she recognized it immediately. The anticipation rumbled in her gut, making it harder and harder to keep her hands off of him in that way. He slowed once after hearing a sound, and she had taken the opportunity to place a small kiss on his shoulder.

Their eyes met, and he gently cupped her cheek. "Not much further." He quietly led the way up the stairs and into their home. He turned her then, pressing her against the door as it clicked closed. His mouth was on hers, hungrily devouring her lips and tongue as he reached to undo her jeans once more. This time he met no resistance, and his hand slid down to cup her through her panties. He moaned softly. "Silk." Somehow he hadn't pegged her as the silk type, and to learn something new about her only thrilled him more.

She could barely catch her breath. It had been too long since anyone had touched her in this way, and she wasn't sure in this moment that anyone ever had. Certainly not Ed. Only herself had dared to delve between her legs in the recent years. Her fingers had always been eager, but it wasn't as satisfactory as the mere thought of his fingers inside her. "Please?" she whimpered, not liking the way her voice sounded so desperate.

His fingers found the sides of her panties, following along them until he found what he wanted. The heat that radiated from her was almost enough to make his knees buckle. He breathed, "Don't worry. I plan to give you everything." And more.

She crumpled against him as his fingertips barely brushed over the hair that covered her mound. Her hands found his shoulders, gripping his shirt tightly between her fingers as she tried not to whimper. Reflexively, she arched against his hand, encouraging him to keep going. To not stop.

He pushed gently between her folds with his fingertips. Two of them to be exact. He slid into her, fingers instantly becoming slick with the state of her arousal as his thumb found her clit. He gently began to move his thumb as he kept his fingers in place only sliding deeper as he did so. "Carol," he breathed.

She pushed him back, dislodging his hand. She grabbed his other hand, leading him toward the bedroom that was his, wanting to make love in his bed and hoping that it would soon become their bed. She looked back at him, blue eyes shining in the dim light of the night light that Carol kept on for Judith. She licked her lips, taking in the way his eyes devoured her. It made her shiver with want.

He didn't object to being led into his room, didn't care that it was a mess. All that mattered right now was them. And what was about to happen. He felt her hand fall from his as she pulled her shirt quickly over her head. He quickly followed suit. It wasn't but a moment later that they both stood naked, their want evident with the hardness of her nipples and his cock as it stood at the ready.

She stepped forward, taking him in her hand as she stroked him slowly from base to tip and then back again. She repeated this motion over and over until his hand came down to stop her. Knowingly, she stepped away from him and moved into the center of his unmade bed. "Rick," she breathed.

It took him two strides to make it to the bed. His knee fell into place below her ass as he positioned himself between her legs. He looked down at her, almost unable to make her out in the faint moon light as it shown through the half drawn curtain. It almost made him want to turn on a light so he could see her better, but he refrained. Unable to keep his mouth to himself, his mouth fell onto the swell of her breast before quickly moving to the other.

Her hand moved to wrap around him once again, guiding him toward her entrance. She used the tip of him to tease along her slit before she shifted her hips and took only the tip inside her. She gasped with pleasure as the skin on skin contact made her that much wetter. She moved her other hand into his hair, encouraging him to stay at her breast until he'd had his fill.

He pushed deeper inside her, grunting softly against the peaked nipple between his teeth. His hand came to rest on her hip, gripping her tightly as he sunk all the way home inside her. His mouth fell from her breast as he crushed her with his weight. This was all new to him, new and glorious. He managed to tangle his other hand with hers and pushed it above her head as his mouth found hers once more.

Their bodies moved together, creating a friction between them that was almost unbearable. The build up was excruciating and wonderful all at the same time. She breathed out between kisses, "Don't...Don't stop. Oh God, Rick..." Her hand that had been in his hair was now scraping down his back, leaving angry red welts in their wake. Her legs tightened around his hips, heels dug into his ass.

His knuckles were bone white from where he held their hands over their heads. He grunted softly, tugging at her lip between his teeth as he continued to move inside her. His body responded to her every shift and desire, almost as if he knew her better than he did. He drug his teeth along her jaw, stopping at her ear. "Come on, Carol. Come on," he hissed as his breath tickled her ear, causing her to arch up against him. He was close, but he needed her pleasure to come before his own. He owed her that much after everything they'd been through together.

His words, breath hot on her ear, sent a shiver down her spine. She was right on the edge, almost falling over it. Her hips rolled, making him hit that spot inside her. She fell over, crying his name. "Rick, oh Rick. Yes, sweetheart. Yes..." She freed her hand, moving both to his lower back and digging her nails into his flesh. "Come with me," she begged.

And that was all it took for him to follow her into oblivion. He held on tightly to her as he continued to move inside her until completely spent. He breathed, "Carol..." He kissed the side of her head, then her ear and then along her jaw. Finally, he found her mouth and kissed her lazily before he rolled from her and pulled her with him.

Her hand draped lazily across his waist as her hand lay against his hip. She gave it a gentle squeeze. "Been a long time coming."

He closed his eyes, nodding at her words. "Yes, it has. Been through hell and back. I have a lot of regrets, Carol. Most of them about you." He kept his arm snug around her, not wanting her to leave his bed, to leave him. He laid his cheek against the top of her head.

"Everybody deserves a second chance, Rick. Even if some don't believe they deserve it." She was only being honest. His second chance with her had been the hardest that she'd ever had to give anyone. And she didn't regret how hard she'd made him work to prove himself. Just like she didn't regret what had taken place tonight. She'd wanted it for so long. She ran her fingertips through his chest hair, teasing his nipple before she placed a kiss right above his heart. "No regrets?"

"No regrets," he echoed softly as he reached with his free hand to lift her chin and meet her lips in a soft kiss. "But we probably should be heading back to the party. People will wonder where we got off to." He smiled down at her, kissing her once more before he let her slip from his arms and then he lifted himself up from the bed and started to dress.

She watched him, hating that the moment was over all too soon. "Maybe once everyone's asleep..."

He stopped her by saying, "We don't have to hide this. Not if you don't want to."

* * *

Carol returned to the party a few minute ahead of Rick (who had insisted on doing a quick perimeter check before his own return). She took a glass of soda that was offered to her from Daryl, blushing slightly as he leaned over to inform her that it was actually Jack and coke. He knew exactly what she liked, but she'd limit herself to one cup full. Just enough to give her that healthy buzz. Only tonight, she had that already from her time with Rick.

Their eyes met as he rejoined the party. She watched as he quietly made his way toward her, only stopping for a moment to give some attention to Judith who was happily playing with all the toys that everyone had given her to play with. He then continued until he was standing at her side. "Carol."

"Rick." Her smile was inevitable as he leaned against the large Oak tree next to her. Their hands brushed together, and it wasn't long before those same hands were tangled in one another. And it didn't matter that everyone could see.

They believed in second chances.


End file.
